Document metadata for effective resource discovery

Contents:

Member's documents in the Eco Companion catalogue are stored as
Structured Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
files. This means that the actual documents are free of proprietry formats
and so can outlive any computer management system. Presentation documents
are produced in HTML and plain text, when the member edits the documents
using the online facilities.

The structured content is separated from its presentation. The methods
that produce the presentation formats can then be changed to keep pace
with digital library management techniques. In this way, the author can
concentrate on the content of the document. In the background, we
continually develop facilities to utilise the latest methods for enhancing
resource discovery.

Metadata (information about the document at hand) is automatically added
as hidden elements to the <HEAD> section of the HTML document. These
include Dublin Core Metadata Elements and elements for
some specific search engines. Our site also has ratings for the Platform
for Internet Content Selection (PICS).

The documents are edited by the member, using the online document
management facilities, and presentation documents are generated in both
HTML and plain text formats. When a member chooses to publish, the
documents are added to the public catalogue and indexed for searching.

Metadata elements are automatically inserted in the HEAD section of all
of your HTML documents. Whenever you update your documents then they are
re-generated. As the techniques for resource discovery evolve, we will
revise the production methods.

Only the BODY of a document is displayed by your WWW browser. Use the "View
source" option of your browser to see these hidden elements.